This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

A message from your sponsor for the last week.  Because you already know you're getting the game.

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It's who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn't just include game play (though that's a huge part of it). It's rivals and mascots; it's legends and stories. It's those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

We appreciate your continued support of Tomahawk Nation and we'll continue to keep this place free.  

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Inspired by a recent Dennis Dodd column, I thought our last "where I come from" post would ask y'all to predict where Florida State will open the season in the AP and ESPN polls.  Dodd, who writes for CBS Sports (thus the absence of an ESPN mention) used five polls:  The Sporting News, Phil Steele, Lindy's, Athlon. Yahoo Sports and CBSSports.com. Dodd found:

15. Florida State: New coach, healthy quarterback. Great prospects. Highest rank, No. 14. Lowest rank, No. 20. (60 points, Avg. rank No. 16)

Personally, I wouldn't have three of those in my ten best polls, but that's not the issue here today.  Nor is the issue the stupidity of pre-season polls, which always produce inappropriate biases in the minds of voters which seems to carry the day deep into the season after many games have been played.  No, the issue here today is:

"Where will FSU open in the first ESPN Coaches Poll? (the one used for the BCS)"

I'll give my answer later this afternoon, but first I want to see your thoughts.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

We continue exploring the contours of Seminoles fandom with a discussion of all-time favorite 'Noles. Along with the obvious guys who inspired us all and can be identified by their first name alone -- Chollie, Derrick, Deion and the like -- we've all got our favorites who especially stand out in our minds years later.

Devin Bush is perhaps my favorite 'Nole of all time.  His 1993 interception against Miami ended UM's 31-game regular season win streak and I remember celebrating with my family.  

Florida State Seminoles Devin Bush (via NeroUltra)

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.  Today we talk tailgating.

FrankDNole

Again, the date is September 22, 1984, and on this day a group of South Florida Noles started a long standing tradition of renting a Winnebago, adorning it fully in FSU memorabilia and garnet and gold streamers, and parking it the Orange Dump as soon as the gates opened at 6 AM. We had all met at one of our friends house the night before, and partied all night so that we could be one of the first to roll into the dump grounds, where we would BarBQue all day and continue our non stop partying until the lot closed the next morning after the game. (Remember this is the 80's we are talking about here, and times were very different back then).

And

I parked on Consuela's and Fernando's front lawn many many many times, especailly for the Fin games.  But for the UM games we would all split the cost of renting a 32' Chieftan (get it-I will always remember that brand) and parked inside the dump grounds in the RV section. Back then they used to open up the RV area very early in the morning, and many times I remember getting there night before, depending on the kickoff time, and the fuzz would let you spend the night there after the game (very good idea). It was like getting back to nature, except we were in the heart of Little Havana. But believe me, we were not roughing it at all. One friend would usually start roasting a pig a few days before, and it would always turn into a 3 day non stop party with no sleep (oh and the Heineken kegs plus a full liquor setup). Unfortunately, too many times that I care to remember, we had our hearts yanked from our chests as we suffered through some of these games, but then we knew how to dull the pain real good with the losses, and knew how to do it up right with the wins.

SWFLNole:

Florida State doesn't have the same tailgating tradition as many other schools who pack more people into smaller areas. At FSU there are pockets around campus. From the Boosters lots to the different student tailgates. During my time at Florida State I have been a member of the FSU Fishing Club, and for the past 5 years we have had our own tailgate that we throw each week. One of my friend's, and club member, is a capable welder and created a smoker that can go into and out of a truck hitch (well before Jimmy Buffett sold similar products), and we pull the smoker up early for every game day. Typically a few of us will get there about 7 hours before game time to begin the prep. We always have a cooler full of oysters, and lots of smoked meat from chicken to sausage to pork shoulder. Also, we typically will have game of some sort (always Gator for UF), and because we are the fishing club something from the ocean we have caught recently, and you know, a big shiny metal tub of liquid.

These tailgates have completely defined the FSU football experience for me over the past 5 years. I often remember games by the tailgate. From the Florida game in a torrential downpour where we just didn't care, to the blackout game where we got a police officer friend of ours to pretend to arrest one of the girls at the tailgate. Now that many have moved from Tallahassee the faces are different but the FSU Fishing tailgates will always be one of my fondest memories from my time at FSU and especially the good times that helped push through frustrating seasons.

How about you?  What are your favorite tailgating traditions for Florida State?  Let's compare notes.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011! This is our first post of NCAA Football 11 sponsored posts throughout the week. During the series, we value your input greatly.

One of the perks of being a 'Nole fan is that there have been so many great teams and memories.  That also makes it difficult to pick out a favorite team of all time.  But that is today's issue and I cannot choose just one.

First on my list is the 1999 team.  It's just awesome to see a team know it is better than everyone else and play like it.  Weinke to Warrick.  Jason Whitaker and Brett Williams kept Weinke clean.  Corey Simon plugged the middle and allowed linebackers like Brian Allen to run free.  FSU was voted #1 in every poll conducted, from pre-season to post.  They were the first wire-to-wire champions of the BCS era.  This video sums up the finale pretty well.  

But two other teams were also special to me.  First was the 2003 team.  This was my first year as an FSU student.  The schedule had a few quality opponents and a nice helping of cupcakes.  Remember, this was before the ACC expanded, so Boston College, Miami (though FSU played them anyway), and Virginia Tech were not in play.  FSU opened up at UNC with Greg Jones beheading Dexter Reid, 37-0.  Then FSU played a classic over Georgia Tech, 14-13.  I didn't know it at the time, but FSU was getting into a pattern of running up the score on bad teams, which would help to defend the offense from the critics who criticized it for averaging less than 12 points in FSU's three losses.  The first of those losses came in the rain game to Miami, which also involved everyone crashing the gate as the system to redeem coupons for tickets was perhaps poorly planned.  The season also saw a blowout win for FSU at Notre Dame, a horrific loss at Clemson in which some accused Bobby Bowden of throwing the game to save his son's job, and an awesome overtime win over NC State and Phillip Rivers.  And of course, a win over the Gators in the Swamp, 38-34: 

If 2003 was the start of the era during which FSU fans could depend on only one side of the ball (and I happen to think 2004 was when this era really started), 2009 was the same, only the sides were flipped.  2009 was a special season that I will always remember.  After a decade of futility, FSU was finally addressing its problem.  I felt sorry for the defensive players who had been let down by the program, but the offense had improved every year since 2006 and provided hope for the program going forward.  The team was enjoyable to watch and all of the off-field or sideline dynamics made it all the more interesting to cover.  

How about you?  What were your favorite Florida State teams?

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.Happy Independence Day Weekend! This is our first post of NCAA Football 11 sponsored posts throughout the week. During the series, we value your input greatly.

EA Sports is making this week all about the fan, and today the network is discussing how we all became fans of our respective teams.  My story isn't all that exciting as both of my parents graduated from Florida State and being a 'Nole is in my blood.  A few months back, however, member and frequent contributor MiamiNole shared his story with us:

I am from Miami, but I transferred to FSU because I wanted the college experience. I was a Cane fan, and thought I would go to FSU games and root against them. When I first started going, I would mockingly ask how to do such an intricate chop. Along the way though, something happened. I got sucked into the atmosphere. Seeing Garnet and Gold everywhere became exciting. The tailgates on game day, banging on the drum in the Union before, and the celebrations at The Winkle after; well it was just awesome. Not to mention, the friendliness of the town called Tallahassee. The atmosphere was what I had always wanted to experience. I don't know when it happened exactly, but at some point, I started hating that Miami was doing something. I think a big part of that was being a Miami fan that could not find any other fans that werent on a band wagon. Seriously, ask a UM fan who Kenny Kelly is, 80% have no idea, forget Clement, Covington, or any other guy that played on that team when Butch was rebuilding.There was also the great victories. I got to see us beat Florida with Rix, I went to the first ACC championship. I drove to Nashville and watched our band obliterate Kentuckys. There was a game too? I missed it :/

Again, Im not sure when it happened, but I remember the whole aura of FSU. I got sucked into the culture. Unfortunately I went when Jeff was the OC and Bobby was asleep at the wheel, but I still had a ridiculous amount of amazing memories. I like to think that becoming a fan during those times (read: never really in conention for the nat'l championship and abandoning UM when they had Dorsey because I realized I wasn't a hurricane) will make me appreciate the success all the more when we return the promised land. Thinking about it now though, I am hungry for success. I was at the Penn State game, my last home game was Zook being carried off of Bowden field.

Many of you have already shared your story with us here, and if you have some time, I encourage you to read the comments to learn some of the amazing background stories posted on the original story. Also, I apologize for this somewhat duplicative article.  The prompts will get better throughout the week, I promise.  If you've never signed up or have signed up but were afraid to comment, now would be a great time to share your story!